Ever thought about how awesome it would be to quit your job and backpack around the world with your buddies? The founders of new local travel company Off the Grid Excursions — a group of friends who met at Northeastern University — did the next best thing: they made globetrotting their job. The twentysomething travel junkies plan off-the-beaten-path trips to destinations like Morocco and Peru for small groups of young, adventure-hungry folks, mapping out itineraries you might not find in your Frommer,s guidebook. We tapped cofounder Jaclyn Carron for some tips on getting way, way out of town.

On not being an "Ugly American" "Start by researching local practices and customs. What do people wear, what do they eat, how do they eat?...And we always forget that we're naturally louder, as a society, so try to keep your voice lower. Be more patient. Don't get so easily frustrated by slowness; we're used to speed here."

On eating like a local "When it comes to restaurants, never eat where the menu is in English or if there's something on the sign in English. I guarantee that the food will be better."

On shit you don't need "Try to fit everything into one backpack. I always bring one good pair of shoes, comfortable clothes, my journal, my iPod, and usually a guidebook. That's it."

On tipping "As a standard rule of thumb, if you're not sure, leave 10 percent. It's not too much to be insulting [if tipping isn't the norm], but it's not too small if tipping is appropriate."

On thrifty travel "Something people often forget is to negotiate. You can get things for cheaper than you think, and it's a perfectly normal custom. Negotiate for everything. Get in your taxi and tell him, 'Okay, I'm going to pay $2 and not $5.' That ends up being fun and saves you some cash."

Power rangers Adam Ryder was fascinated, he said, by long-distance, high-tension power lines and their scruffy right-of-ways.

What I saw at the Revolution To signal the start of the 2nd Maine Militia’s final meeting, held recently in Parsonsfield, a small cannon was fired.

Hands across New England Providence may be the Creative Capital. But it is hardly the only community that has attempted to build a new economy on a foundation of laptops, paint brushes, and guitars.

Just hold it To Portlanders, they're a familiar sight: out-of-town victims potty-dancing around town, pained expressions on their faces, one sip away from having polished off an iced coffee the size of a small child.

Salem's spookiest tourist traps When America's original Mean Girls started accusing all their Salem neighbors of being witches in 1692, who knew that the city would remember the community hysteria that sent 20 innocent folks to their deaths with the awesomest Halloween shindig anywhere?

Vote for casinos in Maine If you're opposed to casinos in Maine, there's one way to make certain the state won't be overrun with noxious gambling emporiums sucking up every dollar of disposable income we have left: vote in favor of every single one of them.

Playing tourist Last weekend, more than 2300 people stepped off cruise ships into the Old Port seeking all things Maine: lobster, anything blueberry, and a taste of the way life should be (some probably hoped to spot a moose on the corner of Fore and Exchange).

THE TNT SHORT LIST: ARTSEMERSON'S NEXT THING | February 12, 2013 Mike Daisey's anthropologic commentary on American culture is just the beginning of what ArtsEmerson has in store for festival-goers at The Next Thing (TNT) Festival.